One of the things that people need to understand about life, friendship, relationship, etc, is the fact that a lot of people have obvious needs which they may not talk about. Behind that response of "I am fine" that your friend gave to you, there may be many untold challenges in it which they may not talk about. You will need sensitivity to be able to see the challenges even in the midst of smiley face. To foster a good relationship, you need to be able to relate with the needs of others. Know that everything should not revolve around your own personal needs alone, others also have needs too. So be sensitive to see them.
For sensitivity to the needs of others, particularly your friends and people around you, there are qualities you need to have handy. Firstly, you need empathy. This is a simple way of aligning with and sharing of the feelings of others. Trust me, many people are going through things that you can never imagine, but when you understand their feelings and maybe "walk a bit in their shoes," you will tend to see things from their own way. You will agree with me that when there is empathy in your relationship with others, you will become more attentive to the emotions behind their words and actions.
Trust me, there are times that people may act in a certain way, but without relating to their emotions with empathy, you may not understand the reason behind their action and you will just go ahead and judge them wrongly. Before you judge someone's words and actions, try to be sensitive enough to put yourself in their shoes, then ask yourself what you would have done if you were in their shoes. You will be surprised that if you face what they are currently facing, you will act in a more critical manner than they did. When relating with people, always remember that humanity should come first and by that, you will not have problem being empathetic.
In addition to being empathetic towards people, in order to make for more sensitivity to people's needs, you also need to pay in-depth attention to details including their words and even other non-verbal pointers. There are some pointers that people can drop that can give a cue to what they are facing, but you may not be able to see it until you are attentive to details. This is why you have to learn to give listening ears to people. That is; listen with the intent to fully understand the message being passed on. Beyond listening with the ears to hear what they are saying, you also need to listen with the mind to know their intentions. Of course, some words may carry a nice coating but deep down, they may come from a place of some untold challenges. So also listen beyond the words.
It does not stop at listening, also try to lend a helping hand to people. It may not just be through your act of giving material things, you can also provide emotional support, words of encouragement, kind advice, ideas, etc. All these could help someone to feel better in time of need. Trust me, there are some words of encouragement and pieces of advice that can make more sense than giving someone material things. In whatever you do, try to be a reason behind why someone can smile. If people meet you, try to make them better not worse.
Another way to be sensitive to the needs of others is to learn to come to terms with people's differences, diversities, and individuality. You do not expect everyone to act or think like you do, so try to accommodate their thoughts as part of their uniqueness. The truth is that the uniqueness of each individual is part of what make friendship worthwhile. Many of the people you see today are facing many things, like fears, hustles, challenges, hardness, etc. So try to accommodate and respect people's differences. That you behave in a certain way does not automatically mean that they should trail that part. Always have in mind that you are not the only one that has a needs, others do too. When you live, also realise that others should also live.
Thanks for reading
